The online payments provider Cashu is looking to grow its merchant base by 100 new companies every month for the next two years.
The company, based in Dubai and part of the Jordanian Jabber Internet Group, works with 7,000 merchants across the world.
"We know the problems with payment acceptance in the region and many businesses test their ideas on Cashu," said Martin Waldenström, the Cashu chief executive. "When someone starts an online shop, they can do more or less everything themselves except for the payment.
We have made it our mission to make it as easy as possible [for merchants]."
The company processes about US$500,000 (Dh1.83 billion) of transactions a year, of which more than 50 per cent is for virtual goods.
The gaming sector contributes some 80 per cent to its customer base, spurred on by young gamers without credit cards keen to play games online through monthly subscription fees or payment for virtual goods.
According to gate2play, an online payment aggregator, the regional market for virtual goods is worth $100 million and is expected to rise to $150m by next year and $2.2bn by 2016. The virtual-goods sector is worth about $6bn worldwide.
"Most of our buyers are from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE and Egypt."
Those are by far the countries where we see most transactions," said Mr Waldenström. "Egypt has fluctuated. It had a very good growth rate until a year ago, but we still have a substantial amount coming in from Egypt - it's just not growing very fast."
Its prepaid online cash cards have proven popular with consumers without credit cards. Users can top up their Cashu cards and use them to make online payments.
The company is also launching Cashu Direct early next year, a new payment method in which customers can make purchases online and have up to 24 hours to pay the amount in cash at a given retail outlet.
The company will begin the service with Air Arabia and said interest from airline operators had been strong.
"Credit card penetration is more than 60 per cent in the UAE, but in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait it is about 5 per cent. There is a higher penetration of debit cards, but these are not usually accepted online," said Mr Waldenström.
Cash-on-delivery remains the most popular method of paying for goods bought online, he said. But the high cost for merchants, especially for cross-border transactions, result in the service being eventually phased out across the Middle East, analysts believe.
thamid@thenational.ae
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
'Ghostbusters: From Beyond'
Director: Jason Reitman
Starring: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace
Rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: nine-speed
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh848,000
On sale: now
States of Passion by Nihad Sirees,
Pushkin Press
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
'Shakuntala Devi'
Starring: Vidya Balan, Sanya Malhotra
Director: Anu Menon
Rating: Three out of five stars
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
What: Brazil v South Korea
When: Tonight, 5.30pm
Where: Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae
